Aquila
by JazMitch
Summary: A mysterious man. The edge of a cliff. Running away. Protecting the people you need to protect. Trying to stop the past from it's threat to consume you. Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter, and leads a happy life. What happens when this life threatens to come crashing down? What happens when the past she tried to run from comes back to haunt her? Slight AU! Scrog didn't happen! Babe
1. Prologue

Aquila (Eagle)

SPOV

I squeezed my eyes shut as I ran, the silent pounding of my feet on the sand in sync with the pounding in my head. When I opened my eyes again I had reached the cliff rise overlooking the boundless blue torrents. I collapsed to my knees at its peak, not even panting.

I felt, more than heard, him come up behind me. I should have known he wouldn't have let me deal with this alone. Part of me wanted to pound into him in frustration at having my wishes ignored while the other part of me wanted to bury myself in his arms in love for him having ignored them.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked me in a whisper.

"It is the only way to keep them safe," I answered back, just as quietly, my tone final. He dropped to his knees next to me and wrapped his strong, muscular arms around me. My vulnerability and raw emotions won out and I sagged against him with a sob.

"Hush, my sweet one, it's alright," he soothed me, uncharacteristically. I cried harder, letting out all my pent up feeling in a torrent of tears.

"I have to protect them," I whispered, "but I wish it didn't have to hurt me too."

"I wish you weren't hurting too, Sugar," he said simply. I shifted my head to the side to look at the houses in the distance. The houses that held my chosen family. The houses that held the weaknesses in my armour. I breathed one last goodbye before I turned around and forced myself not to look back.

###

Trenton, New Jersey. The place I had left 4 years ago was just the same; I heaved a sigh of depression at my return.

"Are you sure about this, Sugar?" he asked from the driver's seat.

"It is the only way to keep them safe," I answered the same way I did on the cliff.

"You don't have to do this," he denied. "We can keep them safe while keeping the life we have now."

"No, Benito," I said firmly, sadly. "It is time for me to return to being boring, normal Stephanie Plum."

"You don't have to, Sugar…"

"I do, Benny. I do."

###

I heaved the last box into my new apartment. It was nondescript, and in my opinion, a two-year old with a toy screwdriver could pick the locks, but it was just what I needed to stay off the radar. Sadness and longing seared my soul, but I knew I was doing the right thing.

"Is this goodbye?" the sorrow laden question came from behind me.

"No, Ben," I refuted softly. "Maybe in the future, when all this is over, we will see each other again."

"What will you do?"

"Get a job. My cousin Vinnie is hiring bounty hunters. I could give that a shot."

"Bounty hunting?" he asked sceptically. "Sugar, you are supposed to be staying off the radar."

"I will," I nodded, "I know I have to."

"You're telling me you're going to do this job without revealing who you are," he raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"You think I cannot?" I bristled.

"Christ, no," he laughed for the first time since the day I told him my plan. "If anyone can do it, you can."

I smiled at him and turned to look out of the window. This life that I had been so set on avoiding had come back to haunt me in the worst of ways. I tried so hard to stop all this from going to hell…

"Did you get them the security necessary?" I asked him.

"Yes. I've got a company called Rangeman installing security as we speak. They're the best; made up mostly of ex-military. I put you down as the additional contact person for any incident, and they'll take care of the threat. If you deem it necessary you can get there easily," he reported.

"Excellent," I turned back to face him and just looking at him, and knowing this may the last we see of each other, suddenly became too much.

I launched myself into his arms and he crushed me against him, the same thoughts and feelings going through his mind as well.

"If you ever, ever change your mind…" he breathed into my neck desperately.

"…you will be the first one I tell," I finished his sentence with a promise of my own, my tears seeping into his turtleneck.

He pulled back and pressed a kiss to my forehead; I closed my eyes as his lips lingered there.

"_Bonaventure_, my dear, sweet one," he murmured. (Good luck)

"And to you too."

###

"Thanks, Con, I really appreciate the help. Think this Ranger guy would be willing to show me the ropes?" I asked innocently. I had gotten the job and was now a bounty hunter. My first case was bringing in one Joseph Morelli, and boy was I going to enjoy doing that. It was just such a pity I had to hide who I was…who I had become.

"Sure, Hun, he owes me a favour," Connie answered breezily.

Sometime later saw me walking into a diner, looking for a man Connie described as tall, dark and delectable- not much to go on, but hey. My eyes skittered across the room and out of habit I catalogued in my mind before settling my gaze on the single sexiest man I have ever laid eyes on.

"Ranger Manoso?" I asked, approaching him and sticking out my hand. "I'm Stephanie Plum."

He took my hand and raised an eyebrow in disbelief. I was immediately irked, since I had been trying to do that for years.

"_You _want to be a bounty hunter?" he asked with a smirk. Clearly, he thought I was in over my head and I fought the urge to show him just how wrong he was.

"Last I checked, yeah," I answered mildly. His lips quirked upwards as though he was thinking of smiling.

"And you want to take down Morelli?" Smug asshole.

"Are you just going to keep stating the obvious, or are you going to help me?" I asked snippily. "Coz I gotta tell ya, I'm not one to forget the things that went down just a few hours ago, I don't need reminding."

He gave me a grin and my heart stuttered, but I refused to show any outward reaction.

"Well, okay then, Babe. Let's get started."

**A/N: Hey all! Okay, I know I have Te amo babe, my other story, to finish, but this idea wouldn't leave me alone! I am posting the prologue to see how it is received…please let me know how you feel about me continuing this story! I promise that Te amo will not be neglected, with or without this story! Review, please!**

**JazMitch**


	2. The Mystery Client

**Disclaimer: Not mine, I kid you not.**

**A/N: Okay, this is going to be a short chapter, just to bring some interest into the story! This is basically the introduction into how AU this fic is; what you need to know is that SCROG NEVER HAPPENED, but DeChooch did. In this universe, however, Steph remained broken up with Morelli, but still never got together with Ranger. Morelli is a bit of a non-entity in this fic, mainly because there are some other, hotter characters coming soon… ;) **

**Bear with me for the cliff hanger and I'll try to update soon!**

**###**

_Five years later_

"Not gonna happen, Joe," I threw over my shoulder as I waltzed out of the TPD. "Said it then, saying it again now."

The past few years have been uneventful, for which a part of me was grateful. My smug, annoying mentor had become my best friend, my support system and one-time lover. Ranger was now a permanent fixture in my life, albeit it not in the capacity I want him to be, as are his company and his Merry Men. I'm still bounty hunting, but now I work part-time at Rangeman too.

Morelli and I dated for a while after I hauled his ass in for going FTA when I first got back to Trenton. I helped him clear his name- unfortunately, he was innocent- and we dated on and off for some time. During that entire time, there was unresolved sexual tension between Ranger and me, and for one glorious night, as a result of one of the most illogical deals I have ever made, we were together. I didn't believe him when he said it, but he had definitely ruined me for all other men. On that note, I was about to prolong the off-phase Joe and I were in to "forever", before Ranger's asshole suggestion that I fix things with him. I couldn't, not when I knew I felt something emotional for Ranger, and since then, Ranger and I had stuck to the steamy make-out sessions combined with an odd kind of friendship and Joe and I had stuck to being a non-item. At least, in my eyes we were a non-item. He had been trying to get me back for the entire span of time that we were apart, while banging other woman and turning around and telling the Burg we were engaged. Yeah, I know, real charmer, huh?

"Come on, Cupcake, you know we're basically married in the eyes of everyone else already," he said, trying to sound charismatic. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, well, that doesn't say much for the Burg's eyesight then, huh?" I scoffed.

"Stephanie, you're really trying the limits of my patience here," he said tersely. He grabbed my arm and spun me around and I fought to control the instincts that were ready to take him down. I felt a tingle at the base of my neck.

"Let her go, Morelli," a cold, menacing voice intoned from behind me. Ranger. I looked over my shoulder at the badass mercenary who was currently exuding a very powerful, very threatening air.

Was it bad that I wasn't so much terrified of this as I was turned on?

Either way, it seemed mine was the only reaction like that since Joe paled visibly and loosened his bruising grip on my arm, having never seen true anger from Ranger before now.

"Give it a break, Joe," I told him softly, sympathetically, as I pulled out of his grasp. "We've been over a long time."

With that, I turned around and walked away, Ranger falling into step behind me. I got into my car and drove to Haywood, Ranger following me in his Cayenne; we didn't need to talk before knowing this would be what we did. Like I said; weird friendship.

As I drove, I began to think about what had been bothering me these past few weeks. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach…my Spidey senses were going off the chart and I needed to know why. I was terrified that it could have something to do with everything I left behind 5 years ago…

See, there's more to the story than meets the eye here. I am Stephanie Plum, the bombshell bounty hunter, yes, but I left something in my past when I moved back to Trenton. See, 5 years ago, a lot of things went down and I had to leave the place I had made my home in favour for the place I used to know as home. When I left Trenton, college bound, I was determined that I wasn't ever coming back. I didn't have much of my future planned out, mind you. The only thing I knew for sure was that I was NOT returning to Trenton, New Jersey.

And yet here we are.

But I digress.

In my years away from Trenton, I had forged a way forward. I had made something of myself and become something I was enjoying…until it all went to hell. I left, knowing that the consequences if I were to return would be dire. I left my friends- the little family I had chosen- and I left the life I had created. All of it went to dust and I had to deal with that, but it was nothing compared to dealing with what had happened leading up to it.

It was all my fault.

So I fled. Not out of cowardice, no, but out of obligation. I had an obligation to too many people not to honour it, despite the pain it would cause. I returned to the place I had sworn to leave behind, and did my best to create something where I was certain there was nothing left for me. When Ranger came into my life, it became easier, much easier. I had a reason…I had someone keeping me here in Trenton. So I foraged on and here I was…and yet, for the past few weeks, I had felt like it was about to go bad. I was on guard; something told me this little life I had been building was all about to come crashing down.

I rolled my shoulders as we drove into the Rangeman garage. Ranger had noticed the tension I had been experiencing (not that I had bothered hiding it) and I couldn't let him get suspicious enough to start asking me questions. When we got off, he silently checked my bruises and I prepared myself for the fight we were going to have about seeing Bobby. I was more than surprised when it didn't come; instead, he wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my hair. I was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I simply relaxed into him, inhaling that comforting scent that was a unique mix of Bvlgari and pure Ranger.

"Babe?" Ranger's monosyllabic conversations were hard to follow, but I took this one to mean _Are you okay?_

"I'm fine, Ranger. You got there before anything could happen. Batman to the rescue," I joked half-heartedly.

"Sure?" he asked, not willing to be derailed by my joke.

"Yeah," I sighed. "What're you doing now?"

"Client meeting," he answered. "Someone has been checking up on him and we thought we needed to warn him, advise him to get guards while there still might be an active threat."

"Be nice," I warned him cheerfully. "Just remember that, as CEO, you are not allowed to get antsy with your clientele."

"Care to lend a hand, Babe?" he asked. Surprise must have been obvious on my face because he chuckled a little. "You're better with people than we are."

"Sure, Batman," I answered, pleased I could help out. Besides, I could use the distraction from the gnawing in my gut. "Lead the way."

###

Ranger POV

Five years ago, my life had been flipped over on its axis.

When Connie told me she needed me to help her friend become a badass bounty hunter, I could have hung myself for ever telling her she could call in a favour from me for giving us all the high bond skips when we first started Rangeman.

I got to the diner and was approached by what I was sure was the sexiest woman I had ever encountered. If I had to be honest, some part of me expected her to fall at my feet, figuratively speaking…mostly, like many women seemed to. Imagine my surprise when this blue-eyed, little spitfire met my sarcasm with searing words and attitude to boot.

I soon learned that she wasn't at all the in-over-her-head Barbie I had initially pegged her for. In the years gone by, she had become my best friend, not to mention the object of my lust, desire, and love.

Though I refused to admit it for a frustratingly long time, I had fallen in love with the curly haired brunette. The night we spent together was almost always foremost on my mind and I regretted pushing her away…not that she stood for the crap I'd spouted. She had since remained single and was always testing the limits of my restraint whether she knew it or not.

Though she had no training and more often than not, found herself in danger, she always managed to pull it through. She continued to amaze me with her exploits and though I tried, I couldn't seem to stay away from her.

I was on my way to the TPD to talk to Chief Juniak about a burglar we'd apprehended who was sneaking into a house under our security, when Tank called me.

"Talk," I barked into the phone.

"We have a client meeting in an hour," he explained. "We called it as an emergency; someone's been checking up on the client, and I called some contacts. There are words about using him to locate Aquila."

I gripped the steering wheel in surprise. Aquila was one of the government's best, before he retired. Only a very few, very select number of people have seen his face, namely the superiors and his partner. They were, put simply, legends in my line of work and I've personally wanted to meet him since I heard about him, to spar with him if nothing else. He was said to be on my level hand-to-hand, and I looked forward to testing that theory, lest I get the chance to ever meet him. The most astounding thing about the Aquila was that he never killed; he always brought criminals back into the justice system, most of the time leaving them in the most comical ways, almost as though he were mocking them for a poor career choice. It was a blast to hear about his exploits when we were in the Rangers, before something happened and he dropped off the radar completely. I affirmed with Tank that I would be there before hanging up.

Questions raced in my mind. How did one of our least well-known clients have a link to the Aquila? The guy wasn't associated with the government in the ways we were, but he was supposed to be the one to help bring out the Aquila? It implied a personal connection; maybe they were childhood friends? Another thing on my mind was why? Why call the Aquila out now? What mission was so important that they didn't call me, or one of the active soldiers? It must have been big for them to try and draw him out; it was a well-known fact that the man hadn't been heard of since he quit- and he was the best at staying hidden- and more to the point, according to stories he had threatened them with a fate worse than death if they tried to rope him into the business again. What was so big that would risk his wrath?

Pulling up at the TPD, the sight that met me made my blood boil with both rage and jealousy. Morelli had his hands on my Babe and she was trying to yank herself away from him. I tamped down my jealousy in favour for the rage and dropped my blank mask to let Morelli see the feral anger in my eyes.

"Let her go, Morelli," I commanded icily, keeping my tone frigid to show him I meant business. NO-ONE touched my Babe, especially not a scorned ex-boyfriend, in anger. He saw the ferocity of my expression and paled, loosening his grip. No-one said the man didn't have self-preservation instincts.

"Give it a break, Joe," Babe said softly, pitifully. "We've been over a long time." I was constantly amazed by Babe's ability to be compassionate with even the least deserving people. It was, if I had to be honest, one of the things I loved most about her.

We got into our respective cars, not needing words to communicate our actions. Chief Juniak was a far thought from my mind now.

When we pulled into the garage at Haywood, I made quick work of parking before I pulled open the door for Steph. I silently raked my eyes over her body, checked her bruises and battled with the choice between fighting her to go to Bobby or trusting that she was okay. When she tensed I knew she was mentally prepping herself to fight, so with an internal sigh, I relented. Instead of fighting her tooth and nail as I normally would have done, I just wrapped my arms around her, trying to comfort her, and quite honestly, myself. I was happiest, no doubt, when Babe was in my arms. She relaxed into me and, wisely choosing not to question it, breathed in a deep breath.

"Babe?" I asked eventually. Better than any of my men, my brothers-in-arms, and family, Stephanie Plum could read me like a book; a skill that no-one alive has mastered yet. Steph, of course, believes that all Rangemen have ESP, so I doubt if she would believe me if I ever told her.

"I'm fine, Ranger. You got there before anything could happen. Batman to the rescue," she joked feebly, sending a tired grin my way. I saw right through the attempt, and it ruffled my feathers, knowing that something deeper was bothering her.

"Sure?" I raised an eyebrow, calling her on her lie but not pushing her to talk, much as I wanted her to.

"Yeah," she nodded unconvincingly. "What are you doing now?"

I explained vaguely to her the gist of the meeting, and she playfully warned me not to get antsy; she knew better than most how bad I was when it came to patience with our clients. I could sit for hours staking out a house from a tree perch, in a sniper position, no hassles. Give me a disgruntled- or even worse, chatty- client, and I'm ready to break out my guns and dig up some old grave sites I've used before for far more important people. An idea struck me suddenly- who was better with people than my Babe? Somehow, she knew exactly how to get them to trust her, and everyone liked her even if they tried not to. She was bubbly and sweet and patient and compassionate; she was perfect for this meeting! Quite frankly, I wanted this client to agree to our help; it might get me closer to finding something about the Aquila out. Not that I could tell Babe about that…

I casually suggested that she join us and she was surprised, but agreed. As we walked, I observed her silently. She was still tense; but then, she had been for weeks. She kept looking as though she was expecting the worst, and I wondered if she was having a serious problem with the cop. I almost growled at the thought. She would tell me if she needed my help…right?

I was brooding at the thought that she might not, and I nearly missed the conference room.

"You sure you're game for this, Babe?" I asked, making sure she was fine with this before we went in. "You seem pretty tired out."

"I am," she admitted. For a second, I saw the weariness and the stress in her eyes, before she looked away. "I want to do this, though."

"Okay, Babe," I relented, wishing she would tell me what had her looking like the weight of the world was on her shoulders.

She sent another small smile my way and my heart lifted a little. I could figure this out. Figure her out. I just needed to try a little harder.

We walked in and Babe looked around the room. When her eyes settled on our client, she stopped dead in her tracks. I was about to ask what was wrong when the client sprinted across the room to her.

Things happened in slow motion. None of us anticipated our client to be a threat, so when he came at Babe, none of us were prepared. We reacted, but he got to her first. My blood ran cold and my protective instincts preceded any and all logic.

"Stephanie Michelle Plum!"

**###**

**A/N: The plot thickens! Who is the mystery man who came at Steph? Will she be okay?**

**Review if you want to find out! Lol! -JazMitch**


	3. An Alias, a Car and a Road Trip

**Disclaimer: I'm so not JE, come now, people.**

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed and/or favourite this story! I'm glad it was well received! **

**Dedicated to Chesi66, Margaret and Wraithdarte. You guys are amazing in all your constant support!**

**###**

Steph POV

When I walked into the conference room, my Spidey senses were zinging and screaming. Why did I feel like walking into a place at Rangeman could be bad?

Then, I saw him.

_This _was their client?

What the hell was going on here?

He launched himself at me and I saw in my peripheral vision, the MM and Ranger reacting.

"Stephanie Michelle Plum!" he yelled, barrelling into me and grabbing me around my waist. I laughed- in spite of my fears being confirmed- as he spun me around. He set me down eventually, only to pull me into an even deeper hug. I saw the confusion on the Merry Men's faces, but while they lowered their guns, Ranger kept his pointed at us, raising an eyebrow at me in question. I looked away, hiding in his shoulder, trying to figure out what I had to do next.

"Stephanie Plum," he breathed into my hair. "As I live and breathe." He hugged me tighter and stroked my hair a little, and after seeing the bafflement on the guys' faces, I gave up trying to think. For a single moment, I allowed myself to feel all the joy and love at seeing him again; feel the sheer ecstasy of being in his warm arms and letting myself go back to a past I was forced to leave, but never forgot or longed for any less.

"Leo," I murmured into his shirt. "God, I…I…how are you? I mean, how's everyone? Why are you at Rangeman? Is everything okay? Did something happen? Is anyone hurt?" The questions tumbled from my mouth with lightning speed as I pulled back to assess whether he'd been damaged at all since I had left. I was relieved to find nothing.

"Still don't breathe in between sentences when you're stressed, huh Honey?" he chuckled warmly, staring down at me fondly.

"Shut up, Superstar," I grinned, punching his shoulder lightly. He made a show of feeling pain and I noted that it was only now, when I left his arms, that Ranger lowered his weapon.

"Babe?" he looked at me for an explanation. I cringed inwardly.

"You know Mr Manoso?" Leo looked at me, suspicious at Ranger's name for me. I sighed; just great.

"Ranger, this is Leonore," I started. "He was one of my best friends in college…"

"And after," Leo interrupted, looking at me sadly. "Until she left."

Now, I did cringe. I hated leaving the way I did…but what choice did I have?

"Leo, I work at Rangeman part time. Ranger is my boss, and my mentor; I bounty hunt as well, and he helps me out when I need him," I explained, averting my eyes to avoid the hurt in his expression. "Ranger is my…" I hesitated again, looking now at Ranger. His eyes were undecipherable, and I was getting tired of the back and forth between us, so I made a decision. "He's my best friend."

Leo looked cheered by this information, while the slight tensing in Ranger's jaw and the single tap of his index finger twice against his jean clad thigh, told me that he was saddened and possibly in disagreement with my assessment, and he was definitely not a fan of Leo.

I pushed aside my emotions and focussed on the reason for my reunion. Worry erupted in me as well as fierce anger.

"Why is he here?" I asked Ranger, trying not to redirect my anger at him. I succeeded, in everyone else's eyes, but Ranger's eyes skittered over me and I knew in an instant that he saw the anger I was holding in.

"Babe," he gently took my hand and pulled me toward him. "I don't think it would be a good idea for you to know the details here. Some of this stuff is now related to Uncle Sam, and I would much rather you not have a part in it deeper than you already are."

"I'm going to tell her anyway," Leo piped up defiantly. "She stays. Whatever you need to say to me, you can say to her too."

I appreciated Leo stepping in, because I didn't know how I was going to convince Ranger to let me in on the details of this case without tipping him off.

"Babe, please?" he looked me in the eye and I hated to deny him anything, but this was one exception. This was the one case I couldn't mess with.

"I'm sorry, Batman," I breathed, a bad taste in my mouth. I squeezed his hand once and went to sit to the place next to Leo's. Ranger's blank face slammed down and the Merry Men looked at me dumbstruck.

"Someone has been checking up on me," Leo started to tell me. "Intense background checks, watching the house, the works. Nat, Micah, Rory and I live in a beach house. Since you left, we've lived together; someone bought the place for us and asked that we use it and stay in it together, like we'd planned before. We think it was Mrs S," he looked at me and I know the pain in his eyes was reflected in mine. I turned away, and tried to get myself under control. I couldn't lose it now. "Anyway, your friends here are saying that there is talk that the checks on me could mean that these people doing it are trying to get to me. They think I know something about some important military man. Aquila."

"Who's Aquila?" I asked Ranger. He hesitated then resigned himself to answering me.

"He's one of the military's finest. Or, was, at least. He gave it up some time ago, no-one knew why. All they know is that he vowed they would regret it if they ever tried to track him down."

"Have you guys figured out the connection between him and Leo?" I asked.

"No, nothing yet," he shook his head.

"Are you guys going to put a guard on the house?"

"Yeah," Les answered me this time. "We've got it under control, Beautiful, don't worry."

"Thanks, Les," I smiled warmly at him. Les had also become one of my best friends, and I loved him to bits. He winked at me and my grin widened.

"You can leave, Mr Arquette," Ranger dismissed him brusquely. "The protective detail you came with shall escort you home."

"No," I interrupted. "I'll take him."

"Babe, we need to talk, and I would rather we do this now," Ranger told me plaintively.

"Later," I insisted. I was terrified for this talk, because I didn't want to lie to or deceive Ranger.

"Fine, we'll follow you, and then when we come back _home_," he stressed the word subtly, "we'll talk."

"Fine," I sighed resignedly. "Come on, Leo, let's go."

"The guys are going to be so excited to see you," Leo bounced happily on his feet. "Rory is going to _die_ about the fact that I saw you first."

"Well," I laughed, "I'm not sure I can stay, or even stop to say hi," I admitted regretfully.

"Why not?" he asked with a frown, looking dismayed.

"You're telling me they would let me leave?" I half-joked.

"Why do you have to leave?" He looked at me piercingly and the murmured questioned struck me with grief. "You left once already, Honey, and I know you didn't want to! I know it!" His voice became ardent. "If you wanted to, you'd have said so. Besides, this place, this life," he gestured around him with his hands. "You've never wanted this, Steph! You've never wanted Trenton! What changed? Why did you leave us for a life you hated and swore never to return to?"

"Leo," I stopped his rant, finality in my tone. "We'll talk on the drive over. We have some things we need to discuss."

I made eye contact with him, and like our old dynamic, I nodded once upwards. He smiled despite himself and nodded once downwards. Before, when we were all together, that used to be our thing. On the verge of a fight, we would stop ourselves, and the upward nod was an apology while the downward one was to tell the other that it was okay. I smiled broadly at him.

"Road trip," he chuckled.

###

Ranger POV

Whose bright idea was it to bring Babe to this client meeting? Dios, I could shoot myself right now.

When he charged at her, I was poised to shoot, and only her giggle brought me back to the reality that he was hugging her, not attacking her. I fumed, not lowering my gun, as he spun my Babe- _**my**__ Babe-_ around, and pulled her in close for a hug. Babe glanced at me, cringing slightly, and I raised an eyebrow in silent question. She hid, burying her face into the client's shoulder. This irked me, like nails against a chalkboard. Who the hell was this joker, and why the hell did he think it was okay to be holding my Babe? He murmured something into her hair and I forced my hand not to pull the trigger, lest I hit her.

After a tense introduction, I tried to get Babe to leave; I didn't want her involved with this case, not only for the fact that our douche of a client was so _handsy, _but also because the last thing I wanted was for Steph to be on the Aquila's radar. I knew he wouldn't hurt her- that wasn't his MO- but that didn't mean that I wanted her anywhere near that life.

Of course, _Leo_- what kind of a name is that anyway?- had to be the "hero" and insist that she be 100% part of this because he wouldn't hide anything from her anyway. Jesus, it's like this guy knew exactly what our relationship's Achilles' heel was. Reluctantly, I let Babe stay and patiently answered her questions. What bothered me was how she kept avoiding my eye and looked very distracted, yet focussed at the same time. Finally, this hell I'd walked into was over.

"You can leave, Mr Arquette," I didn't bother hiding the brashness of my tone. I didn't want him to mistake the fact that I didn't particularly crave his presence. "The protective detail you came with shall escort you home."

"No," Babe cut in. "I'll take him."

"Babe, we need to talk, and I would rather we do this now," I stated baldly, hiding the flare of jealousy I had felt behind a blunt tone. Was there something there? History, or an unfinished romance?

"Later," Steph insisted. She looked worn and nervous, and I wondered what was going on. She had never reacted like this before; as though she had something to hide.

"Fine, we'll follow you, and then when we come back _home_," I put slight emphasis on the word to show him where her new home was, "we'll talk."

"Fine," she agreed with a defeated slump to her shoulders. They walked off, the so-called man bouncing on his feet like an over-excited puppy. I bit back a growl that was equal parts disgust and annoyance.

"Bossman, what just happened?" Tank looked at me incredulously.

"Yeah, cuz, how does Beautiful know the client?" Even my cousin looked gobsmacked and I would wager next to me, that he understood Steph the best. We all seemed to be flummoxed at the events that had just transpired.

"I don't know," I answered in a clipped voice. "But we're going to find out." Decisively, I strode out of the conference room, Santos, Brown, Tank and Hector following suit. We moved to one of our Rangeman SUVs, taking one car instead of two, and as Steph pulled out of her parking space, I made an impulsive decision. Calling Manny in the control room, I asked him to switch on the bug I had planted on her hair band.

"Sure about this, Boss?" Manny asked hesitantly. "Wifey's gonna be really mad about it."

"That was an order, Ramos," I replied coldly, evenly. "I didn't need an opinion."

"Yes, Sir." I could almost see him looking down in chagrin. Satisfied that I had reasserted my authority, I hung up and activated the portable receiver in the SUV.

"…you left." I caught Leo in mid-sentence. "You never told us anything. You never explained why. Hell, Teez, you never even said goodbye!"

Teez?

"Would it have helped?" Babe asked, sadness thick in her voice. "Would you guys have let me leave?"

"Maybe…" he trailed off.

"Nonsense," Babe declared. "And I didn't leave because I wanted to, Leo. I left because I had to."

Meaning?

"You're being so cryptic, Tee," Leo complained. "Look, it's just five minutes. Why won't you at least come in and greet the people you left behind five years ago?"

"Hold that thought," Steph took a right turn, one I knew for sure wouldn't take us out of Trenton. Where was she going?

Everything was quiet for a few moments as we followed Steph. My thoughts were racing. What was she hiding? Where was she going? What happened all those years ago that forced her back to Trenton? Did she regret being there? Even now, with Rangman…with me, in her life, did she wish that she was there with her old friends? Would she rather have that life than the life we…

I stopped myself in my thoughts. Really, what kind of life was this? I say that we have one together, but I tell her that we never can. What had I given Babe, to show her that I want a life with her? She was right to introduce me as a friend, because I hadn't been showing her how much I wanted to be more. I was just so worried that something could happen to her because of the people I was associated with…I never wanted her to be in danger because my enemies are after her. On the other hand, it's not like I let her go, let her have a normal life away from me. It was more messed up than I had allowed myself to believe. What I feel for her is unmistakable. There was no two ways about it…so why couldn't I tell her that? And why couldn't I let it happen?

We stopped at a series of storage units. I looked around, wondering what had brought Babe here.

"Hi," she greeted the security guard brightly. "Madison Hedgewell, I need to access my unit. Number 60."

Madison Hedgewell? She flashed him what I assume was a fake ID and he let her through. Why was she operating under an alias? What was in that locker?

The men were silent, each wrapped up in their own thoughts. I knew this was bothering them too; we all cared about Stephanie deeply, and it worried us that she may have gotten involved in something that required her having a fake identity.

We drove through to her locker, and Leo and Steph got out of the car. She headed to us and I switched the engine off, getting out as well.

"Babe?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I couldn't ask her about her alias yet, or she would figure out about the bug.

"I need to fetch something," she blushed. "More like, exchange something…"

"Beautiful, what's going on?" Santos interjected. "What's in that storage locker?"

"I need a change of ride…" she trailed off, then approached the garage and pressing a button on a remote she fished from her pocket. The door rolled up and revealed…

…Utopia.

At least, we thought so.

There were steel shelves along the walls with sealed boxes and suitcases and burlap sacks filled with God-knew-what. But what caught our attention was the black tarp covered object in the centre. Babe reached down and yanked off the tarp to reveal a shiny black '69 Impala.

"Shocked" is not normally an emotion associated with me. Unless it was a situation with my Babe.

We stood there, barely able to comprehend what we were looking at, and judging from a slack-jawed Leo, he didn't know about this either.

"Babe?" I finally managed to speak without showing the surprise in my voice.

"It's a 1969 Chevrolet Impala Sport Sedan 250Turbo Thrift, in perfect condition," Lester moved toward the car reverently and I refrained the sudden Stephanie-born urge to roll my eyes.

"I know what it is, Santos," I snapped.

"This thing has 155 horsepower, it's a monster on the road," he continued, running an adoring hand along its side while Steph watched with a grin. "It runs from 0-60 mph in under 15 seconds flat!"

"14.7 seconds, actually, Les," she corrected him with a wink.

"Where the hell did you get it, Beautiful?" he asked incredulously. I was inclined to ask the same thing.

"Ask no questions, hear no lies," she shrugged, losing the smile. She looked up at me and her eyes were sad; it punched a hole in my chest to see her like that. Gently, I grasped her elbow and pulled her aside.

"Babe, what's going on here?" I asked her softly, pushing a stray curly lock behind her ear.

"I wish I could tell you, Batman," she hid her face in my chest and I welcomed the opportunity to wrap my arms around her. "But we can't do this now," she mumbled into my t-shirt. "I have to get Leo back to the house."

"Babe…" I tried to protest.

"Let me, please," she looked up at me pleadingly. "I need to do this."

The desperation in her eyes, though I couldn't understand it, helped me make my decision. I nodded once and she relaxed, and though I wanted to push her for answers, I knew I couldn't do it now. She needed me to hold on for a little while and if that was what she needed, that was what she would get. We stepped back to our places and a small giggle escaped Steph's lips at the sight that met us.

My idiot cousin was circling the car like a man in a desert who had just found an oasis. He looked as though he might possibly cry at the sight that beheld him.

"I'll make you a deal, Les," Steph grinned. "You park my other car in the garage for me as I take the Chevy out, and I'll let you drive it all the way back to Trenton."

"Beautiful," my cousin looked at her solemnly, but his eye were screaming the excitement of a child who could hardly believe the sheer amount of gifts waiting for them under the tree on Christmas morning. "You should never joke about things like that."

"I kid you not, Les," she laughed. "I'll even let you take it for a spin every once in a while, if you ever feel like testing out its speeds."

Without a word, he walked up to Babe and wrapped her in a huge hug, spinning her around. I growled again; what was it with these men that had them thinking it was okay to do that? Like an overactive puppy, he headed to Steph's old POS car. Before he got in, I grabbed his arm.

"Mats, cuz," I informed him in a low voice. "Tomorrow morning, 0400."

At least I could teach someone a lesson.

###

Steph POV

We drove in silence for a few minutes. No doubt, Leo was still trying to figure out why I had used a fake name and ID to get my baby from his storage unit. Not that I could explain to him why it was necessary. I saw the questions turning around in his head. Worse than anything was the fact that Ranger was listening into our conversation. He thought I didn't know, but the Chevy was tricked out with bug detectors and I knew about the bug the minute I got into the car.

"How is everyone?" I asked, breaking the silence and hoping to steer the conversation away from my suspicious behaviour.

"Nat and Micah got married two years ago," Leo smiled at me.

"That's great!" I exclaimed, feeling both intense happiness for my friends, and intense sadness for what I had missed. I think Leo sensed the two conflicting emotions because he reached across the console and squeezed my hand.

"It was a beautiful ceremony on the beach, but it missed one of the most important parts," he smiled at me. "You."

"I wish I could have been there," I said sadly. "What else have I missed?"

"They have a son, Nicoh," he grinned. "Guess what his middle name is?"

"What?" I asked, smiling slightly.

"Stefan."

I looked at him in disbelief. He smiled back and I could see the sadness in his eyes, so I knew I had deducted right.

"It's a mix," I murmured, tears filling my eyes. "Of my name, and…"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "Micah came up with it and Nat was all for it."

I sniffled and fought to hold back the sob that was threatening to escape.

"Aw, don't cry, Tee…" he pushed back my hair and tapped the tip of my nose with his finger. I smiled tremulously.

"No-one has called me that in a long time," I laughed slightly, wiping the moisture from my eyes.

"It was _our _nickname for you," he winked. "No-one else's."

"So, aside from Nat and Micah, and our new addition, Nicoh, what else has happened?" I asked. Now, more than trying to distract Leo, I _needed _to know. after all my wondering, finally, I could find out where their lives had taken them…whether what I did was worth it.

"Rory graduated top of the class with honours," he told me a proud gleam in his eyes. "We were all so proud. Following that was one of the most successful law firms ever to be opened, and business has been booming. Rory did it, against all odds." Pride burst in my chest too, and I ached again for another of these momentous occasions that I missed. "Nat stays at home with Nicoh, she still does her art, and Micah is still running his practice. He's become one of the most renowned surgeons in the country. As for me, I'm still in real estate. I've got the impressive list of clients at the company so I'm in the running for a promotion right now," he told me excitedly.

"That's great, Leo, I'm so proud of you!" I grinned widely and almost jumped in my seat in enthusiasm. "This is great, you're all exactly where you said you'd be all those years ago." Melancholy entered my tone slightly as I thought of the two people in our little family who didn't get to be all they said they would be…who got dealt a bad hand and had to leave those dreams in the past. I felt sad for myself and…

"Don't," Leo stopped my train of thought. "I know where your thoughts are going, and don't do that, Steph, don't. Leave it in the past."

"I wish I knew how…" I whispered, tortured by the past that seemed to haunt me every damned day.

"Start by telling me about Trenton," he cut in, desperation lacing his tone too. This prompted me into action; I couldn't drag him back to the dark place I had been in since that day. He moved on and I needed to let him stay there.

"Trenton will be Trenton," I forced a small laugh. "I dated Morelli for a little while," I confessed, blushing as I avoided his eyes.

"No fricking way!" his booming laugh filled the car and it unwittingly eased the tension that built in my shoulders. "That asshat? Jesus, Steph, what in the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't," I giggled. "But it doesn't matter, we've been over a long time."

"Rory is still gonna kick your ass," he guffawed. "And what about tall, dark and scary?" he asked, a serious undertone to his faux-joking tone.

"Who, Ranger?" I asked, feeling acutely aware that he was listening to all this.

"Yeah," he nodded. "What's going on there?"

"He's my best friend," I answered carefully. "Anything more, I'm honestly not sure."

That was a fair enough answer, right?

"Do you think Ranger knows this Akhil fellow?" he asked.

"The Aquila," I corrected absently. "And no, he doesn't."

"And you believe that?" he snorted. I bristled, but after all this time, I found I couldn't really get mad with him. Not yet, at least.

"Yes, I do," I told him matter-of-factly.

"How are you so sure?"

Of all the thinking I had been doing, I knew what I needed to do. There was only one way forward from here. So, I played my trump card.

"Because I know The Aquila."

**###**

**A/N: Dum, dum, duuuummm! Hope you guys like the chapter, and please let me know if y'all want more POVs, such as from the Merry Men or from Steph's old friends. Review please! -JazMitch**


	4. Meet The Aquila

**Disclaimer: No more of these, okay? How about I just let y'all know if I do end up owning them one day? Okay? Okay. I do, however, take full credit for Benny, Leo and everyone else here you don't particularly recognise.**

**A/N: Thanks for the patience! Hope you guys enjoy!**

**Huge thanks to Margaret, Chesi66 and Wraithdarte. You guys rock!**

**This is dedicated to First Generation Scot, in response to your PM. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope what previously confused you becomes clearer with this chapter! Enjoy!**

**###**

Lester POV

"WHAT?!" I burst out, almost choking on my own breath. Beautiful knew The Aquila? Since when? How?

"You _know _this guy?" Beautiful's friend burst out incredulously, mirroring our shock. "How?"

I looked at my cousin; his hands were gripping the steering wheel and the slight tightening at the corner of his eyes spoke volumes about the feelings coursing through him. After everything with Leo happened, I knew he wanted to make his feelings for Stephanie known; I just hoped finding this out wouldn't change that.

"It was a long time ago," Beautiful's voice sounded tired and nostalgic. "Just let it go, okay Leo? I'll handle it."

"Let it go?" he scoffed. "You knew a guy who was the top dog in the military, how am I supposed to let that go?"

"By dropping the subject and the questions," her sharp reply had me worried; Steph rarely snapped, and I wondered why this was getting to her so much.

"Come on, Tee," he wheedled. What kind of a nickname was Tee anyway?

"Don't ask me, Leo," she warned him quietly. "You may not like the answers."

"What if I…" he started to argue and Beautiful pulled up in front of a tall gate leading to a secluded mansion.

"You're here," she interrupted him. "Tell them all I said hi."

"You're really not coming in?" his incredulous voice was beginning to set me on edge. "Not even to say hi?"

"I'll come another time," she told him, and I knew she was lying. Before Leo could argue any more, a loud voice came from the gates. Standing there was a pretty, curvy woman with short, black hair in a pixie cut.

"Well, look at the trash this monkey's brought in this time!" Her loud voice, while mostly teasing, held a certain amount of awe and disbelief in it. Still she stayed where she stood. I bristled at her implication that Beautiful was trash, before Steph got out of the car.

"Well, what about the riff-raff he has to live with now?" she called back, crossing her arms with a grin.

"Don't let Nat hear you called her that," she returned, starting towards Steph. Steph laughed.

"Tramp," she shot.

"Jerk!" the woman retorted with a chuckle. Steph moved forward and they met halfway in a huge hug, where both women jumped up and down slightly.

"Steph!" the woman laughed. "After all these years."

"How ya doin, Rory?" Beautiful grinned. This was Rory? I was under the impression it was a dude.

"I'm great, and how's your fat ass been?" she poked Steph playfully.

"Better than yours, obviously," she stuck out her tongue and both women embraced again.

""Has it been too long?" Rory mused quietly as she held Steph. "Do I have to call you Stephanie now? How different are things?"

"Would you have me call you Aurora?" Beautiful asked.

"I'd sooner maim you and mail you off to your mother," she mock threatened.

"Then call me what you've always called me!" Steph smiled. "Five years have only changed your sorry face!"

"Look who's talking, honey!" she laughed, hugging Steph again.

Women.

I would never understand.

"Come on in, Nat is gonna die when she sees you!" Rory started to pull her enthusiastically.

"I don't think I can…" she started to object.

"Bull," she snorted. "You're coming in, and you're not going back!" Steph laughed and pulled out the rubber band in her hair, shaking out her curls. Shit, we were going to lose contact. I saw Ranger's eyes flash and his hand reached for the door handle.

"Let me just get my friends," Beautiful said. "I'd hate for them to have to wait in the car." She came to us and stuck her head through the window. "Guy's, y'all up for a little socialising? Apparently, I don't have a choice but to go in and say hi."

"Why don't you want to, Babe?" Ranger asked carefully. "They were your friends."

"History is a dangerous thing, Batman," Steph answered sadly. "It's best left in the past."

With those cryptic words, she turned around and walked back to where Rory and Leo stood. I, for one, wasn't too fond of the idea of her going in alone; I opened the door and got out, as did my cousin, Tank, Hector and Bobby.

We were in for an interesting visit.

###

Steph POV

Rory kept her arm around me as we walked up the driveway to the beautiful house in front of us. The last time I was here was five years ago…I pushed aside my trepidation and tried to concentrate on what Rory was saying.

"…and now, I've opened my very own law firm that handles both paying clients and takes on some cases pro-bono."

"Rory, sweetie, I'm so freaking proud of you," I hugged her again. "You said you were going to do it, and you did." She beamed.

"What about you, Wonder Woman?" she asked. "What are you doing now?"

"I'm a bounty hunter, part-time, and I work at Rangeman part-time," I explained. "That's how I ran into Leo."

"So you're a badass?" she laughed. "You always were the type." She turned to Ranger and the guys and frowned. "You lot had better be taking care of my girl, here."

"Yes mam," Lester piped up. "Want me to take care of you too?" I rolled my eyes and grinned at the predatory look in my old friend's eye.

"I wouldn't, Les," I warned him. "She'll eat you for lunch!"

"Sounds promising," he winked. I laughed and smirked at the look on Leo's face. Upset was putting it mildly.

When we entered the place, I looked around me in awe. They really had transformed this place and made it a home. All over one wall, were their qualifications. Across another were all our old college photos. The third was filled with paintings I assumed Nat had done, and the fourth stopped me in my tracks.

There were oil paintings of everyone; on the right, were Nat and Micah, and who I assumed to be Nicoh. On the left were Rory and Leo. In the middle, the two largest pictures; I could scarcely bear to look at the one with the face that haunted my dreams for so long, so instead I focussed on the painting of the girl with curly brown hair and the brightest blue eyes. My breath left me in a whoosh. I looked vibrant in the picture, my eyes somehow screaming mischief, fun, and a slight air of mystique through the canvas. She had caught me looking over the ocean, sitting on a rock as waves crashed below me. Only having my profile accentuated the side of me I had kept hidden, and I felt as though I was transported back in time just by looking at it.

"She considers that her best, and favourite piece you know," Rory's softer voice penetrated the fog surrounding my brain. "She spent the most time on it and no one could see it until she was done." Tears pooled in my eyes; I turned away, unable to bear looking at that wall any longer.

"This was a mistake," I muttered, walking away.

"She wouldn't have wanted this, Steph," Rory rushed after me. "She wouldn't have wanted you to…"

"Wouldn't have wanted me to what, Rory?" I snapped, rounding on her.

"She wouldn't want you to run!" she said ardently. "So why are you, Steph? Why are you running from _us_?"

"I'm not running!" I objected. "And don't tell me about what she would have wanted, Rory! Because what I did, I'm pretty damned sure, was exactly what needed to be done!"

"How do you figure?" she demanded. "It's not like you spoke to us about it! You just up and left!"

"I did it because I had to!" I burst out finally. "I would never have left without saying so if I didn't have an excellent damned reason, Rory, you know me better than that!"

My friend was silent as we stared each other down. I was so frustrated at myself; this was one of the reasons I hadn't wanted to come back. I could never explain the circumstances to them.

"I knew it," a voice came from behind me. "I told them!" I turned around in time to brace myself for the flying blur of colour that bounded into me. With an oomph, I stumbled backwards slightly as Nat made solid impact and held on to me for dear life. I can't say I didn't hold on just as tightly.

"Nat!" I said through the tears I found in my eyes. "God, I have missed you!"

Nat and I were one of the closest among us, back when things were different. It seemed, though, that it hadn't changed.

"Jesus, Steph, where have you been?" she half laughed, half sobbed.

"Around," I shrugged, smiling through the waterworks. "I can't believe you married Micah!"

"I more than married him," she laughed. I clapped my hands together twice.

"Right, where's my little nephew who I get to spoil to the ends of the earth?" I asked, anxious to see Nicoh.

"He's in the upstairs bedroom, sleeping," she grinned at me. "You can see him after supper and after you explain to us what happened five years ago."

Pain scissored my insides. "I can't stay, Nat," I told her quietly, regretfully.

"Steph, you just got here…" she protested, tears beginning to fall again.

"Don't cry," I pleaded, feeling my eyes prickle with tears too.

"Then don't leave," Rory came up next to me. "Please, Teez," she implored. "Just, stay for a while. If you still have to leave after that, we won't stop you. We just want to know why."

"We already lost one member of our group," Leo pulled the one card that he knew I couldn't handle. "Don't make us lose you too."

With that, with everything piled on, the Merry Men staring stoically at me, trying to figure out what was going on, Ranger and his blank face undoubtedly wondering why I never told him my secret, my friends staring at me wanting to know why I had hurt them so badly…

It all crashed down on me. Shaking my head, trying to clear my thoughts, I began to back away. At once, Nat, Leo, Ranger, Les and Hector took a step towards me.

"Babe," it was Ranger who spoke. I looked into his eyes and I saw his silent plea to let him help.

"I can't," I whispered, more to myself than anything else.

I turned around and bolted.

Taking the same route I had taken five years ago, my feet pounded against the sand. The cliff rise was the same while everything around it was now so very different.

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. How had I gotten from there to here? Things were going fine in Trenton; try as I might, though, I couldn't escape the past I had run from. Relaxing my muscles, I kept my eyes closed and began to hone in on the Stephanie I had left behind all that time ago. I would need her now.

All at once, I became more centred, and I focussed on my surroundings.

In my calm, centred state, I picked up on something behind me. I waited until I was sure my timing would be impeccable, then I lashed out with a leg sweep.

Catching my target, I grabbed his arm and shoved him face-first into the ground, pinning his arm behind him and digging my knee into his back.

"Long time, no see, Benny," I grinned pleasantly. "You're getting rusty, old friend. Now, want to explain to me who's looking for the Aquila?"

###

Ranger POV

Since babe revealed that she knew who the Aquila was, I experienced a wide range of emotions. I was mad at first that she hadn't told me about this sooner; on the other hand, though, it would have been top secret information. She had always respected it when I couldn't tell her Government-related cases…

On the flip side, it had worried me. As I was quickly learning, there was a lot about my Babe that I didn't know. How ignorant was I? I thought I knew her better than anyone…was that still the case?

Walking into that house, the first thing that caught my eye was the painting of Babe on the wall.

It took my breath away.

The painter had shown her profile as she sat on a rock overlooking the sea. Her face was turned towards the painter, and her full lips were curved into a smile, as though she were about to burst out laughing. Her clear blue eyes were perfectly captured and seemed to pulsate with life, even through the canvas. She looked as though she didn't have a care in the world, and her entire look seemed rimmed with an aura of mystery. Like she had a secret that she wasn't going to tell.

Fitting.

I assumed the others around her were her friends. I recognised Leo, but what played on my mind was the photo of the blond next to Babe. Steph and this mysterious woman had paintings bigger than the rest. Had she left too?

When she began to fight with her friend, the big-mouthed one, I wanted to step in and defend her, as per usual. My protectiveness hadn't lessened, I was glad to note. I watched stoically as her friends pleaded with her to stay. Tears of helplessness and despair filled her eyes and it broke my heart.

"We already lost one member of our group," Leo said. "Don't make us lose you too." I assumed he meant the blond in the picture next to Babe's, but it was her reaction to his words that was forefront in my mind. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Steph jerked backwards, recoiling as though struck by a bullet. What had happened to the blond that had her this affected? I saw in her eyes as it all became too much for her to deal with, and she took a step back. Instinctively, I took a step toward her, pleading with her internally to let me help her.

"Babe," I murmured gently, ignoring the other people I knew had moved forward with me. She whipped her head to face me and the torture I saw in her eyes set off every protective instinct I had in me.

"I can't," she mumbled, almost inaudibly. Turning around, she ran, and I immediately followed suit. Behind me, I heard the pixie haired girl- Rory- swearing Leo for "bringing that up again", and I heard my cousin come after me. I stood on the beach, looking around. Spotting her running at a surprisingly fast pace toward a cliff edge, I was about to dash after her when I felt a hand clamp on to my shoulder.

"Give her a little time, cuz," Santos advised me. "Let's walk, so we can get to her, but give her time and space to process too."

I never traditionally took orders or advice from my men, but I knew Lester was speaking as my cousin. With a curt nod, I restrained myself from running after her, instead walking with Lester towards her. I sensed, too, that he wanted to talk to me about this, and quite frankly, I wanted to hear what he had to say.

"She knows The Aquila," he said, awe still lacing his quiet tone. "She was part of this life way before us, cuz."

"I can understand why she didn't say anything," I frowned. "Hell, we're sworn to secrecy ourselves, but how had none of this found its way to us?"

"Well, we've never really spoken about Beautiful's time in college," he shrugged. "Although it makes sense; she's probably the only person who could go off to college and make friends with the Government's best asset."

"True," I agreed, with an almost grin.

"You were going to tell her how you feel," my cousin stated softly. I didn't answer him, although he took my silence as the affirmative. "Has this changed your decision?" I thought about what he was asking me.

"I don't know," I admitted finally.

"Has it changed your feelings towards her?" he queried innocently.

"No," I answered immediately; it wasn't even something I had to think about. No matter what had happened in Babe's past, it wouldn't change the way I felt about her presently. "The only thing getting to me, is that I thought I knew her better than anyone. Now, I'm not so sure."

"So she had a hidden God of a car and owns a storage unit under an alias, big deal," he scoffed. "And you can't tell me she knows all your friends from college. What is it that you don't know about her?" he pointed at the cliff edge where Babe had stopped. "What can you tell me about her now?"

"She's feeling overwhelmed because her past is meeting her present," I answered immediately. "She feels like she's two different people and she wants to reconcile the two before facing us. She's worried about something, and feels like something is about to go wrong, but she's also preoccupied, as though she needs to sort something out in order to prevent something from going down. All those emotions piled on and so she ran out and immediately went to the only place that could calm her down and help clear her head; a place that's quiet and overlooks the sea."

"Sounds to me like you see everything about her that matters, Ric," Les pointed out. "So what if you don't know stuff from her past? We all bury things that we want to forget, and it isn't like you've ever asked her about it. And why haven't you asked her before this? Because," he answered his own question, "some part of you knows that whatever was in her past doesn't matter. She's never lied to you about what really matters."

I let his words sink in. Damn if my pain-in-the-ass cousin didn't just hit the nail on the head. The past that both of us left behind had never come up; if she could deal with knowing in a nutshell the kind of things I have had to do before, then I could deal with knowing the Stephanie that left this place five years ago.

I nodded once and Les grinned. We kept walking towards her and we were at the bottom when I caught a glint in my peripheral vision. I looked up and saw a man, about my height, and slightly less built stalk quickly towards an unknowing Stephanie. Lester saw this too, and we were both about to shout out when something happened that had the shout dying on our lips.

Babe whirled around at the last minute, her timing flawless, and swept her attacker's legs out before grabbing his arm and forcing his face into the gravel, pinning him down with a knee in his back.

"Long time, no see, Benny," she grinned sardonically. "You're getting rusty, old friend. Now, want to explain to me who's looking for The Aquila?"

To say we were shell-shocked, would be a gross understatement. My cousin and I were rooted to the ground, as we watched the woman we knew to be extraordinarily unobservant, take out a threat we had only seen seconds before he had moved.

"Ranger, Les," her calm voice penetrated the fog that seemed to stretch over my confused mind. "He's not a threat, it's okay."

She got up and offered her hand to the man on the floor. He smirked and took it, rising and pulling her into a fierce hug.

"It's been so long, Sugar," he half chuckled, his eyes closing as he stroked the length of her hair. I resisted the impulse to pull my gun out and aim to kill; what was it with these people and making a move on my Babe? They had their chance back then! She laughed lightly and pulled away only to cup his face.

"I told you we would see each other again." I couldn't mistake the softness in her eyes and the warmth in her voice. While Leo was questionable, there was without a doubt some history between _them_. Suppressing a growl, I stepped forward and stood next to my Babe, attempting once more to make it very clear whose girl she was.

"Oh, um, Benny," Babe cleared her throat, coming back to the present. "This is Ranger. Ranger, meet Benito."

I shook his hand, slamming my blank face down.

"And this is Lester," she continued, gesturing to Santos. He shook the man's hand too, nodding once in acknowledgement.

"Babe?" I made the address into a question, being sure to direct it at her only. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the newcomer's jaw tighten, presumably at my nickname for her. I felt a childish surge of satisfaction.

"There are some things you need to know, Batman," she started off hesitantly.

"I don't think he needs to know," Benito interjected with a smirk. I growled inwardly; he knew about whatever was going on here?

"I think he does," Steph shot back, levelling him with an even look.

"Why?" he asked dismissively. "It's not like he can help."

"He is one of the biggest parts of my life, and one of the best men I know," Babe's voice took on a steely, authoritative note and my heart swelled with pride and warmth. "Furthermore, I do not have to explain myself to you, Benito. Do not forget your place." She narrowed her eyes, and the distinct lack of warmth in her icy gaze coupled with the power her voice held- power that I had never heard enter her voice before- had her friend carefully backing down.

"I know," he mumbled, looking contrite. "I apologise."

"Trust me to do what I am best at," she told him, softening her features while retaining the dominance in her tone. "A lot has changed in five years."

They shared a look and something akin to fear passed through his face, before he filtered his expressions. He nodded once and then came to stand in front of her. Leaning down, he brushed his lips across her forehead. I bristled.

"I'll meet you later?" he asked.

"At the house," she nodded.

He left and Babe turned to face us. Regret filled her clear blue eyes as she looked at me, and acting purely out of instinct, I pulled her close to me. She wrapped both arms around me and held on tightly, shaking slightly. I stroked her curls with one hand and rubbed gentle circles into the small of her back with the other- the only way to calm her down. Another thing I knew that mattered, and that many others didn't, thank you Santos.

"Babe," I murmured, "whatever it is, it's okay. We can deal with it. I won't bail on you, I don't care about what happened in your past."

She looked up at me in shock. "Really?" she asked, hope flooding her eyes.

"Really, Beautiful," my cousin piped up. He smirked at me and I nodded once to convey my appreciation for his good advice. Steph stepped out of my arms to hug Santos and then stood once more in front of us. She took a deep breath.

"It started when I first came here," she started. "Nine years ago…"

###

Steph POV

###FLASHBACK###

"_That concert was off the hook," Rory punched her fist drunkenly into the air. I laughed as my very intoxicated friends mimicked her action. I couldn't hold my liquor very well, save for tequila, surprisingly enough- I may have developed some kind of immunity to it- so I was usually the designated driver. _

"_Man, I could totally rock better than them," Micah slurred. "I can play a mean air guitar." He proceeded to demonstrate, sound effects and all, and I was about to take out Nat's new camera to film him when I heard a sound._

_My father was in the military, so as a child he used to drill into me to be aware of my surroundings at all times. Another thing he taught me was to always keep my switchblade with me, to never leave home without it. While my older, distinctly more perfect sister, St Valerie was playing with dolls and planning her wedding, my daddy would take me to the garage and teach me how to use knifes; how to throw them, how to dodge them, how to disarm someone who has one and how to attack without killing._

_Now, looking around me, I ghosted my hand over the waistband of my jeans, where I had stitched in a makeshift holster for my knife. I heard and sensed, more than saw, the two men coming up behind me. Waiting until they were close enough, and making sure my friends were behind me, I whipped around and grabbed the one closest to me in a chokehold, pressing my blade against his throat._

"_Who are you and what do you want?" I hissed. "Answer quickly, because I won't hesitate to kill your friend here."_

"_I…we're…we were just…we're sorry, man!" the man in my chokehold stammered. I noticed the knife glinting in his friend's hand, and I knew I was right- they were going to try to mug us. Noticing where my gaze had landed, his friend hesitated a second before running._

"_You know, it's not fair to mug a group that really only has one sober member, not to mention the fact that said sober member is a girl," I told the guy conversationally. "In fact, I think you should just make a decent, honest living. Obviously, you can't trust your partner there, so why don't you just take my advice and live a long, happy, fruitful life?" Shoving him to the side, I pocketed my knife. "Get out." I snarled commandingly. He ran and I turned around to face my shocked friends. I scanned them quickly and I saw they weren't hurt; thank God._

"_Man, what a concert!" I whooped, and as suspected, they cheered with me, forgetting they had just seen me pull a knife on a potential mugger. I laughed quietly to myself; they were trashed, and were going to have such a monster hangover tomorrow. I made a mental note to pick up The Cure on the drive home._

"_Miss, are you okay?" a voice shouted from behind me. A tall, muscular man walked up to me. The first thing that struck me was his sandy hair; it was short and spiked, like an army buzz cut._

"_Perfectly okay," I smiled at him. "You were in the army?" I asked, gesturing to his hair._

"_Navy SEAL," he grinned. "My name is Benito."_

"_Stephanie," I smiled, holding out my hand. He shook it before bringing it up to his lips to press a soft kiss to my knuckles. _

""_Hey, Teez, you coming?" Nat shouted. They had gotten to the car and were waiting for me._

"_Yeah, in a sec," I hollered back. "It was nice meeting you," I smiled at him. As I turned to go, he grabbed my wrist. Instinctively, I gripped his hand and pulled, manoeuvring myself to elbow him in the middle and spin him around. "I wouldn't grab," I told him evenly. _

_He grinned widely at me. "We could use someone like you, Sugar," he remarked, rubbing his middle. "Call me if you ever become interested in honing those obviously amazing skills of yours." He pulled out a black card with only 10 digits printed on it. Taking it, I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously._

"_Who's we?" I asked._

"_Me and uncle Sam," he grinned. "I hope to see you around, Sugar." He put two fingers to his forehead in a small salute of sorts and sauntered off. _

_Hmm...Sugar my ass, I thought to myself, annoyed. I'm not sweet!_

"_Teez!"_

"_Yeah, I'm comin!"_

###END FLASHBACK###

"I called him back, suffice to say," I finished my story. Ranger and Les looked at me thoughtfully.

"Are you saying that Benito, your friend…he's The Aquila?" Ranger asked me, disbelief lacing his tone. I had to smirk at the fact that _Benito _was unbelievable to him.

"No, Ranger," I refuted softly. Looking him in the eye, I made my confession.

"I am The Aquila."

###

**Review please! -JazMitch**


	5. A blast from the past

Disclaimer: Refer back. Benny, Leo, Rory, Nat, Micah and the mystery woman belong to the dangerous territory of my head.

A/N: This is a pure flashback chapter, in the hopes of giving you al some background into how Steph became the Aquila. I know some of you have been wondering who the blonde woman is that I keep mentioning; I know this chapter will answer as many questions as it will raise!

For those following Te amo, I promise to update ASAP!

To all those who reviewed, followed and/or favourite, thank you so very much, and if I haven't gotten back to you as yet, I apologise! RL is a nightmare sometimes.

Enjoy!

###

Steph POV

###FLASHBACK###

_I sat on my bed, flipping the card between my thumb and forefinger, biting my lip as I debated with myself._

_To call, or not to call?_

_I had been in college a few months, and though I knew it was still early times, I couldn't help that potent feeling that filled my gut, that wondered whether anything I did was going to make any sort of difference to the world. _

_Maybe it was a product of being an army vet's daughter, but I had always been obsessed with saving the world. When I was little, that meant wanting to be Wonder Woman and trying to fly off our roof. Now, it meant making something of my life that allowed me to save the world in a less glaringly obvious way, by making a difference in whatever ways I could. In a momentary lapse of courage, I had run away to college without any idea of what it was I was going to do so help anyone. In a moment of trying to help myself, I lost my perspective about helping everyone else, and now I went through every day regretting that my plan to escape here hadn't included a sub-section on saving the world. Why was I so eager to escape the hell-hole I called home, that others called Trenton, I hear you ask? It's simple really._

_I needed to fly._

_I guess the Wonder Woman dream didn't totally end with that broken arm, because I always wanted to fly. The restrictions and parameters that came with Trenton and The Burg made sure that their girls' wings were clipped and they were sufficiently subservient and housewifely, and I resented that. I hated nothing more than the Burg mould my mother was always trying to shove me in; hated nothing more than the feeling of being caged up, trapped inside an endless, meaningless and fruitless life that kept me routinely keeping other people happy at the expense of my happiness and my freedom. My despise for that life, and so, Trenton, grew by the day and with one final act of defiance, I was out of Trenton with no real plan to ever return. _

_And so I was brought to this moment; call Mr Mystery and see if him and Uncle Sam could give me a way to save the world, or tear up the card and eat a TastyKake, forever left with lingering doubts, wonders and what ifs?_

_Well, when you put it like that…_

"_Ramirez."_

"_Really? And here I was thinking your last name was Cliché," I mock mused._

"_What would my first name have been?" he asked with a deep chuckle._

"_Walking."_

"_Cute," he laughed. "Interested, I'm assuming, Sugar?"_

"_How did you know it was me?" I asked, sitting up and looking around my dorm room curiously, wondering if this enigmatic man had somehow managed to put bugs in my room._

"_You're the only one besides Uncle Sam that has this number of mine, Sugar, and I doubt you're a hulking, muscular man with a baritone voice," he explained, and I could hear the grin in his voice._

"_How do you know?" I asked, trying to imitate a deep manly voice and failing spectacularly._

"_Cute," he repeated with another small laugh. "So, your interest has been piqued? I'm glad. I meant what I said, Sugar," he told me in all serious earnestness. "We could definitely use you. I've never seen such raw, untapped potential and talent in anyone else before and I've worked with some greats."_

"_Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, cowboy," I cut in softly, but firmly. "How about we start with what this job is, exactly…"_

"_Call me Benito," he told me gently. "And this is what we do…"_

_#S&R#S&R#S&R#_

"_I give, I give!" the panted, pain filled voice struck the walls as he shouted out. Immediately, I shifted my position from where I had pinned him on the floor. He got up slowly, rubbing his sore arm and favouring his right leg. _

"_You're getting old, __**Sugar**__," I mocked him playfully. "C'mon, Ben, you're hardly even a challenge for me anymore!"_

"_That's coz you're a friggin terminator or something," he groaned. "Seriously, you're like a fighting robot, or some kind of supernaturally talented hand-to-hand expert, Aquila." _

"_You have been calling me that since I started here, Benito," I bristled. "At least tell me what it means!"_

_We had been training for the past two months, and vigorously at that. I can't count the number of times when the frustration got to me and I wanted to give it up; when that moment came when the training all just became too intense and too much. If it hadn't been for my inherent desire to change the world, and Benito's undying encouragement and motivation, I don't know that I would ever had made it to where I am now. Thanks, admittedly, to Benny, I was now fighting better than ever before, I was toned and fit, and ready to take on the world. He had helped me keep up with my classes without being discovered by my friends, all while training me to be an asset. I went for a run every morning, finding out that my endurance and stamina was far more than I had given it credit for, and I trained after campus every day, honing my skills in every area of my life. I had never felt more centred and I loved having something to work towards again. All my friends had discovered their paths; Rory wanted to become a renowned and successful big-shot lawyer, Nat wanted to be a painter, Micah wanted to be a surgeon, Leo wanted to become a hot-shot in real estate…hell, even my scatter-brained, blonde partner in crime had a plan of action, intent on becoming a forensic investigator with a CSI unit. Now, finally, I too had a goal; something to work towards and strive for. Something I knew I could be proud of. Something that let me try to save the world._

_I was going to work for the government, bringing in and taking down the big bad guys. _

_So two months later, I was skilled enough to take out even __**Benny**__, which was a feat in itself to be proud of. Benny and I had become surprisingly close friends…friends, of course, with body burning chemistry between them. Somewhere along the line, he had stopped being my teacher and began being my friend, and it was around that time that I began to develop feelings towards him that spanned further than trying to pin his (great) ass to the mats. He was there for me when things got rough and when I found things to be spiralling out of control. More often than not I hoped that something could come of us, because I knew that if it did, it would be potent. _

"_Deep thoughts, Sugar?" he inquired, playfully tapping the tip of my nose with his index finger. I blushed; if only he knew!_

"_Deep enough," I answered mildly. Try as I might, no matter how close we were, I just couldn't be 100% open with him. I still felt the undeniable need to protect myself, even from my partner, best friend and…well, whatever non-boyfriend-chemical-romance thing he was to me. _

"_Snap out of it," he told me, lightly cupping the back of my neck and bringing me to him to place a soft kiss on my forehead. Heat flushed through me. "It will get you distracted, and distracted will…"_

_I cut him off by dropping quickly to the floor and sweeping his legs out from under him. He landed hard on the floor with an oomph._

"…_get you killed out in the field," I finished his sentence in a poorly-imitated voice of him, grinning mockingly. "I know, Ben. Focus is key, you can't afford to get distracted because you can be sure that will be the moment your enemy will strike. I know."_

_He shook his head ruefully, taking the hand I offered him and getting up. On his feet, he yanked me into him. I came easily, crashing into his chest, blushing slightly. His eyes were lidded as he caressed my cheek with the pad of his thumb. His gaze was as heated as my cheeks and we were caught in the moment for a minute._

"_It seems I have next to nothing left to teach you," he told me softly._

"_So let me out into the field," I shrugged, turning out of his arms without waiting for the negative response I knew was coming._

"_Fine."_

_I turned around in surprise, meeting his even gaze with a confused furrow of my eyebrows. Holy Bat-mobile. That was his serious face!_

"_You're not kidding," I said slowly anyway, wanting to be sure. _

"_You're the best I've ever seen, said it before, I'll say it again. It's time for me to put my money where my mouth is. You haven't been training very long so it's going to be nerve-wrecking for me, but I have to do it sometime, and just like every other afternoon, you've just proven to me why it's time."_

"_And to think I was thinking of bunking training today!" I joked, grabbing him in a hug. He chuckled, his chest vibrating pleasantly against me. "I can't believe it," I murmured. "You're letting me out!"_

"_Promise me you'll be more than extra careful," he fretted softly, combing his fingers through my curls. "Please, Sugar, I can't face the thought of…"_

"_Nothing will happen," I interrupted his firmly. "You've trained me, I've learnt the best I could, and now it's time for me to prove that to you."_

"_Just come back safely to me," he murmured, pulling back to cup my face in his hands, looking intently into my eyes. "I could give a damn about anything and everything else."_

"_Benny…" his name escaped my lips in a whisper that betrayed the longing I felt deep inside me._

_It happened in a single, flashing, throbbing moment._

_Before I could blink, his lips were on mine, fierce, desperate with the longing of a man who had tried for too long to deny himself his world. The kiss was hungry and the edge in it told me how scared he was of me going into the field. I tangled my fingers in his hair, pressing myself against him with a small moan. Gripping my waist, he kept trying to pull me even closer, as though no amount of space between us was acceptable. When he deepened the kiss and plundered my mouth, I gasped into the kiss trying to reign in the control I knew I was losing. _

_Before we broke he apart, he suddenly slowed, gentled, until our lips were simply teasing against each other's in soft, sweet caresses. I knew he was going to pull away when he pressed his lips firmly against mine one more time. We were both panting as we broke apart; breathless, we rested our foreheads against each other's. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the words I knew were coming; how this was a mistake and could never happen if we wanted to work together. _

"_You don't know how long I have wanted to do that, Sugar," he mumbled. _

"_You don't know how long I have wanted you to," I returned. _

_I opened my eyes to see him gazing down at me with an adoration that took my breath away._

"_I feel like I should tell you this was a mistake," he said. I began to turn away, trying to hide the pain I knew was blossoming in my eyes. He stopped me, pulling my back flush against his chest and resting his chin on my shoulder. "But I can't. Sugar, I can't tell you that we're a mistake because we're not. We're fated. That kiss was a long time coming, and frankly, we were going to happen whether we liked it or not." _

_I turned to face him, hope flaring inside me. "You aren't going to try to stop this from happening?" I asked hopefully, looking for clarification._

"_I could not do it if I tried."_

_S&R#S&R#S&R#_

_With one last, mighty heave, I pulled the rope and secured it. In front of me, my target hung from his bound legs, howling like a new-born cub._

"_You have tried to harm the people under my protection," I stated bluntly, my voice disguised by the voice modulator I was sporting. _

"_I don't know what you're talking about!" he growled. _

"_Were you not the one who arranged for country-wide distribution of the cocaine you and your little organisation have been shipping on the side?"_

"_What's it to you?" he spat. I grew annoyed. Spinning on my heel, I smashed my foot into his side. Following up by grabbing his lapel and pulling him close to my face, I snarled,_

"_Those people, and the rest of the innocents of the world, are as of now, under my protection. Make no mistake; I will do whatever I need to do to protect them." I pushed him back. "Behind me is all the evidence of your drugging activity and in about, oh, ten minutes or so, the place will be swarmed with agents that have been trying to bust your ass for years. Enjoy prison, I hear they just love drug lords in there," I told him airily. _

"_Take off your mask," he growled. "I want to see who it is I am going to kill when I get out."_

"_You cannot kill that which you cannot catch, Brookes," I grinned. "You will do well to remember that." I leaned in until we were eye to eye. If anything else, he would see the deep blue of my eyes in his nightmares to go with the tribal design mask that added both menace and mystique to my alter-ego. _

"_Fear ye The Aquila?" I asked slowly, menacingly. _

_His eyes widened with a slight of fear, and feeling smug, I made my escape, running into the night. _

"_Approaching the rendezvous," I muttered into my earpiece. _

"_Affirmative," the amused voice responded. "Waiting on you."_

_Scaling a fence with practised ease, I quickly spotted the black car parked in the covering of leaves by the trees just off the road. I jogged to it and jumped into it even as it started driving off. Pulling off my mask, I grinned at the man next to me, exhilarated._

"_The Aquila, huh, Sugar?" he laughed._

"_Yeah, Ben," I rolled my eyes. "I watched that Jack the Ripper movie last night and got carried away. Now will you tell me what it means? I need to know what my new trademark means."_

"_The Aquila is old school Latin," he smiled. "It means, The Eagle. Because Sugar, I saw since then that you needed to fly."_

_I was speechless for a moment before I kissed his cheek softly._

"_Thank you," I said softly. "For everything."_

"_You did an amazing job, Sugar," he replied proudly. "I expected nothing less."_

"_Had quite the teacher," I grinned. _

"_I think you're ready for full-time field work," he shook his head. I'm sorry I doubted that."_

"_Don't be," I waved off his apology. "Take me for drinks to celebrate and we'll be square!"_

"_Oh, honey, the plans I have for you…" he growled._

_Holy hot flash!_

_#S&R#S&R#S&R#_

"_Job well done, Ms…"_

"_She is, as far as anyone is concerned, The Aquila," Benny spoke up firmly for me, pulling me close to his side as we spoke to the suited agent on the screen. The disembodied voice seemed as displeased with this as he was with my wearing the mask._

"_She works for us," he said, dead-panned. "And I'm sure she can speak for herself?"_

"_I can," I answered strongly. "And Agent Ramirez is not wrong. As far as the world is concerned, I exist simply as The Aquila."_

"_I refuse to…"_

"_You guys called me," I reminded him stubbornly. "I am an asset and I know it. You guys need me, so let's not forget who is fine without the other in this equation, Sir." My voice had an authoritative note in it that I had never heard in it before. It would seem that, in finding Benito and The Aquila, I had also found the strong leader in me. "With all due respect, Sir, we do this on my terms or not at all."_

_There was some kind of disturbance and the man on the screen stepped away. An older man took his place. _

"_Sir," Benny dipped his head in obvious respect. I wondered idly whether this guy was the head of the division. I didn't know him yet, so I remained stubbornly as I was. He looked at me expectantly._

"_What's up," I nodded upwards once._

"_Aquila!" Benny hissed, narrowing his eyes at me. I lifted my chin in a standard pose of defiance. _

"_I do not know you, Sir, so you'll have to understand why I cannot react the way I am assuming you want me to."_

_He let out a booming laugh, much to the surprise of Benny and the first guy._

"_She has spunk!" he chuckled delightfully. "My dear," he turned his sparkling, mirthful eyes to me, "you are, by far, the most interesting person I have spoken to today!"_

_I smiled, despite myself._

"_Now," he folded his hands, "I understand that you wish to remain both nameless and faceless to our organisation."_

"_I mean no disrespect and I am not doing this with the intent of being belligerent," I maintained. "I have a very normal life away from this, Sir, and I wish for it to remain as such. I do not wish to be looking over my shoulder and wondering when next the people I love will be in danger."_

"_I understand," he nodded, "but do you not wish to claim any credit for what you do for us?"_

"_I did not start this with the intention of recognition for my services," I refuted. "I do not seek to be embellished in the name of heroics. I just want to do my part and go home to a life where I can be the person I am, not the icon I must become in the field."_

_He was silent for a moment. Then his face broke out into a huge smile._

"_You remind me of someone I once knew, my dear," he said wistfully. "You have spoken with the wisdom of one above your years. I respect the reason you are doing this, and more than respect, I admire it. We appreciate the work you are willing to undergo and for that reason, we will adhere to your terms."_

"_But Sir," the man from before spoke up and the man on screen turned a deadly glare on him. He immediately silenced. _

"_My dear," he turned back to me, "to rectify my earlier mistake, I am Agent Barstow, and I am at the head of the Agency. You can call me Wayne. As of today, you will work on missions as we give them to you, with Agent Ramirez. In the field and for all intents and purposes, Agent Ramirez is your partner; I cannot handle another day like today where you are in the field and Benito is not. He worries like a mother hen," he chuckled. "As a unit, however, Agent Ramirez, you will be reporting to Agent Aquila."_

"_Aquila, Sir," I corrected him warmly. "I don't think, however, that Benito should report to me, though…"_

"_You are the best to be in charge here," he argued dismissively. _

"_He's right," Benny's warm voice interrupted the argument I was about to pose. "I may have trained you, Sugar, but you are far more suited to this than I am. You have the edge that I don't. I'm proud of you."_

_I knew he could see my smile, even behind the mask._

"_So it is settled then," he clapped his hands happily. "Welcome to The Agency, Aquila."_

_As he disconnected, Benny grabbed me and pulled me close. Bending his head, he gripped the edge of the mask with his teeth and pulled it off gently. I shuddered with sudden desire. Once the mask was gone, he peppered my face with fleeting kisses and when he lowered his mouth to my neck, placing hot, open-mouthed kisses along it, I moaned loudly._

"_I could get used to having you in charge, Sugar," he growled playfully. "It could be pretty fun."_

_Oh, it was fun alright._

_#S&R#S&R#S&R_

"_Nooooo!" The shrill, horrified scream ripped from my body as I watched my best friend, almost in slow motion, fall to the ground. Her blond hair lay splayed across the floor and as I skidded to a stop next to her, sobs tore from my body, leaving me shuddering and breathless. "No, no, no…" I moaned, shaking my head in disbelief. Not her. Not like this. Noooo…_

_When I felt hands begin to pull me away, I fought like a wildcat. The strong arms pulled me tight against a warm body, holding me there in a vice lock as I pounded uselessly against him, screaming. I couldn't leave her. I wouldn't._

"_She's gone," a pain-filled voice registered distantly in my head. "Sugar, I am sorry…"_

"_No!" I screamed. I would not believe that! She wasn't gone! She couldn't be…_

_I felt a prick in my arm and I fought harder. Blurriness streaked across my vision and I whimpered._

"_I am so sorry, baby," a whisper reached my pained brain. "I am sorry…"_

_S&R#S&R#S&R#_

"_Are you sure about this?"_

"_It is the only way to keep them safe," I answered, my tone final. As he dropped to his knees next to me and wrapped his strong arms around me, my raw pain won out and I sagged against him with a sob._

"_Hush, my sweet one," he tried to soothe me, agonised at my pain. "It's alright."_

"_I have to protect them," I whispered, "but I wish it didn't have to hurt me too."_

"_I wish you weren't hurting too." Came the simple reply. _

_Turning back to the houses that held my chosen family. I said my last goodbyes._

"_Rory, Nat, Micah, Leo… I hope you all achieve your dreams. We didn't get to, but I hope you do." My pain filled whisper was soft enough that Benny didn't even hear me._

_I said my final goodbye in my head, to a daring, outgoing, blonde girl who was one of my best friends._

_I turned around and much as I wanted to, I didn't look back._

_###END FLASHBACK###_

###

A/N: So, who is this mystery blonde woman? Think it's time to find out?

Review, please! -JazM


	6. 20 Questions

Disclaimer: You know it.

**PLEASE READ A/N! IMPORTANT!**  
A/N: I am so sorry for taking this long to update! RL has been crazy and it was a real challenge writing this chapter. Writer's block in the worst way! I just want to let y'all know that the interval in this chapter when Steph is explaining is the whole flashback in the previous chapter. **Nothing was missed**!

Who's our mystery blond? And what threat has brought the Aquila back to the place she left so long ago?

Let's see… :)

###

Ranger POV

I stood for a moment and tried to process what I was hearing.

Nope, still wasn't quite registering.

"You're the Aquila?" I repeated, my voice emotionless.

"I'm the Aquila," Steph confirmed in a whisper, looking straight at me. Regret burned in her eyes, but in equal amounts with power and strength. In that split second, I couldn't believe that I hadn't seen it. In that split second, I saw all my Babe's strength, courage and resolve in a new light.

I had always known that, if trained, Babe would give me a fair run for my money. Her instincts were golden and despite what a lethal fighter that would make her, she still always maintained that witty rapport with people that instantly had them trusting and talking to her and liking her. Little did I know, those skills had already been bred. A million questions bounced around in my head and I tried to keep them in. I knew that, no matter what was going to come of this that Babe was going through something rough now. I figured now was an inopportune moment to ask.

"Go ahead, Ranger," she grinned at me knowingly, letting me off the hook. "You can ask me anything. You may as well know everything before we tell the others. That goes for you too, Les."

My cousin was grinning broadly. He was one new piece of information away from bouncing on his feet like a pup with a shiny, new red ball.

"Taking out 5 armed men single-handedly and gagging them, leaving them in a circle made out of poker chips, true or false?" he shot at her, eyes shining with admiration and excitement.

"True," Steph laughed and I almost grinned. "It's their own fault, they knew it was illegal to set up their own underground casino."

And, cue my cousin becoming an overexcited Labrador.

I ordered my questions carefully in my head. There were so many things I had wondered about and it was now or never.

"Why do your friends call you Teez?" Santos asked. I let out an internal sigh of relief; I wanted to know, but I wasn't going to ask.

"It's a nickname," she explained. "They call me Trouble, for obvious reasons, and they shortened it to Tee or Teez."

"Fair enough," he shrugged with a grin.

"Who's the blond woman in the painting next to you?" I asked softly, watching out for her reaction. A blank mask to rival my own came over her normally expressive face and that, more than anything, was a tipping point. "Please don't," I said, sounding slightly manic. I finally understood why she hated my blank face. "Don't hide your emotions from me like that."

"Sorry, Batman," Steph's shoulders slumped in defeat as she forced herself back to normal. "Old habits. You certainly choose the hardest questions, huh?"

"You want to be the pot or the kettle, Babe?" I asked with a half-smile. She giggled.

"Fair enough."

I watched her face as she ordered her story in her head. She was biting her lip hard, and sexy a sight as that was, I knew this question genuinely was the worst for her. It didn't help that we weren't alone, and my instinct to make her life as easy as I could over-rode my curiosity.

"It's okay, Babe," I told her softly. "You can answer that another time."

"Thanks, Batman," she shot me a grateful look.

"How did this happen?" Santos asked. "Where did it start?"

"We have to go pretty far back," Steph winced. "I'll give you guys the short version. A week after the concert, I phoned the number on the card, and…"

#S&R#S&R#S&R

"…and that's what happened," she finished her story and if I thought I couldn't get any more shocked, I was frightfully wrong. We had been told the story of The Aquila's first capture, of course. It was legendary. Reese Brookes dedicated his life to charity when he finally got parole. He even started a children's education fund called the Qualia Brookes Foundation, which was his surname, and an anagram of Aquila, albeit not a very intelligent one. There was intense pride in me for what my Babe had accomplished, without ever claiming credit or merit. She was extraordinary. I was worried, though, about how my men were going to react. They all loved her, no doubt, but would they stop looking out for her, taking it for granted that a legend like hers meant she didn't need back-up? I would be damned if she did field work without a partner; Aquila or not, she is my Babe and I was not willing to take any chances.

"So why did you quit?" I asked.

"Circumstances," she answered slowly, a guarded look coming over her. "I had a more pressing obligation to fulfil."

I knew she wasn't telling me the whole story, but I also knew it would be unwise to push her into telling before she was ready.

"You left this whole life behind when you quit, right?" Santos queried. She nodded the affirmative. "Then why are you back here?"

"Why indeed," she murmured. She looked over the ocean, turning her back to us. "Want to answer that one for all our benefits, Benito?" she called, not even glancing back. Tensing my shoulders, I turned to see the man from earlier shuffle out from the trees. This was the second time we had missed him! I growled inwardly. We were getting too distracted.

"As scary brilliant as ever, Sugar," he grinned. She turned to look at him, her expression still measured. She was probably still annoyed at having her authority questioned. It amazed me again, the power she seemed to ooze.

"Brilliant enough that I won't need to handle any more challenges, I hope," she said coolly. His expression flickered with both irritation and pride.

"None, Sugar," he grinned. "I fear the wrath of ye, oh powerful one."

"Smartass," the beginnings of a smile quirked her lips even as she tried to remain stoic.

"Smart enough an ass to get _your_ attention," he smirked, and while I knew that he meant to goad me, I also had a sickening feeling that he wasn't lying.

"Benny," she intoned warningly. "Don't make me drop you on your ass twice in the same hour."

I almost grinned, not totally against seeing that again. Babe turned around and looked at us. Emotions were warring inside her, I could see, then after a quick, apologetic look at me, she wiped her face and eyes clean of emotion and unconsciously straightened her back.

"Benito, when last we spoke I made it very clear that no one was to contact me or try to find me. Mind explaining to me why Uncle Sam is playing a game he's going to lose?"

"First off, calm down, Sugar," he held up a hand. Babe narrowed her eyes and tensed her jaw. "I know what you said, but don't do anything rash," he amended quickly. Guy was smart.

"I will do what I promised to do," she said evenly. "I swore a long time ago that I would protect them from everyone, and damn if 'everyone' didn't include our friends uptown. You of all people should know better than to try me, Benny."

"I wasn't," he said frankly. "I only heard about this today and naturally, I rushed over. I was…" he cast a measured look at us, "occupied. But you know I wouldn't be a part of this Sugar. You should know me better than that." He seemed slightly disappointed and it just made me rage more inwardly.

"I know, Ben, and I'm sorry," Babe said, her eyes softening. Jealousy reared its ugly head. "I just can't afford any luxuries this time around."

"I understand," he stepped forward and kissed her forehead. I resisted the urge to slam his face into the ground. "Despite the circumstances, it's amazing to see you again."

"The circumstances," Steph pulled away. "Mind sharing those yet? You're being awfully tight-lipped here."

"Ahh…the circumstances. They aren't good ones, Sugar. Sure you want _them _around while we talk? This discussion would be more…_interesting, _alone."

Alright, that was the last straw.

###

Steph POV

I pride myself in knowing Ranger's face. It was something not many people could read, but I dedicated a lot of time just looking at him, and the old Aquila in me demanded that I take on the challenge.

Which is why I knew it when Benny's comments became one too many and Ranger shifted into attack mode.

In a flash, I positioned myself in front of Benito and the next second, Ranger was there. He looked at me in frustration, peeved that I had foreseen his move, or that I was stopping him, I couldn't be sure.

"That's enough!" I snapped forebodingly. Both men froze immediately, responding to what they heard in my voice; time away from the job hadn't dimmed the power I radiated. It ticked me off that Benito of all people was trying my patience, so I swung around to face him, sparks flying from my blue eyes. "I will not stand for your implicit disregard of a direct order, Ramirez! Now you will watch your mouth and save your comments for a time when we are not working a case, and so help me, if you antagonize either Ranger or his men, I will not hesitate to pull you. Do I make myself clear?" My voice turned low and deceptively calm, and Benny knew I was back in the job mode. There were boundaries and he winced, realising that he had crossed them. "This is something of enough importance that they risked their lives to call me, and they knew it. I will be _damned _if a testosterone fuelled smack-down got in the way of protecting the people I have lived to keep safe. I _will not _repeat myself." Instinctively, I knew Ranger was smirking, so I turned around coolly, unwilling to let him get in the way of protecting the gang either. I meant what I had said; they were far too important to me, as was the promise I made to one feisty blond long ago, for it to get botched up by male ego. "And you. Why don't you walk it off, Ranger? Lester, walk with him." Ranger raised his eyebrow in disbelief.

"Babe, I…"

"Walk it off," I told him calmly, "or pull your shit together. You're not part of this, Ranger, but if you want to be you're going to have to put up, or shut up. I am well beyond qualified enough and I will take this on my own if it comes to it, but I will not be distracted by petty comments and retaliations." I let my eyes and tone soften slightly when I saw the hurt flash momentarily in his eyes. "I don't want to, God knows I don't. I want my back-up, but someone's always gotta watch the other one's back, remember?" I threw his words at him and despite himself, he half grinned. "No one can do that if they're distracted by something else."

"I'm staying, Babe," he said firmly. I saw the unspoken words in his eyes. _For you. And I won't kill him…yet._

I fought back my smile and stepped back, just as Ranger and Benito stepped away from each other. Les was grinning from ear to ear.

"Just wait till I tell the guys about this!"

For all my trying, I burst out laughing.

Neither man was amused and I hastened, through my laughter, to make one more command.

"No-one gets to kill or maim Lester either."

"Thanks Beautiful."

"Anytime," I grinned. "Now, Ranger and Les stay. Benny tells me what's going on." I looked expectantly at my…whatever Benny was to me.

He looked me dead in the eye, his expression conveying the pent-up anger, frustration and sympathy I knew he was feeling. Foreboding washed over me.

"Jean-Baptiste de la Fuente."

Like ice cold water being poured down my back, dread doused me and I was left ravaged. In an instant, my world changed.

Not again. _No_…there was only one thing to do.

"Ranger, Benito, Les, leave. Now. We're done here."

###

A/N: Dum, dum, duummm! The story of the Jean-Baptiste and possibly, The Blond, will be seen next chapter! Review, please! -JazM


End file.
